Forging the Blade (Vreem)

[Dire Wolf]

It had hardly been a few minutes since her rather... heated... address to the High Council before the woman realized just what she had done. The gravity of her choice was staggering, as she and Vreem had been the first members of the High Council to defy the Jedi.... ever. "No matter... we are doing the right thing. And more often than not doing the right thing isn't the popular choice," she sighed at the thought, "even in the case of the Jedi."

Rhissai looked down on her companion and familiar, Wrex, as stepped out of the turbo-lift that carried her down to the main level of the Temple. Glowing yellow orbs averted up to their friend in turn, holding the same passionate fire that Rhissai held in her heart. It took little more than a few thoughts back and forth before Rhiss convinced the Vornskr to get up with a moan, a stretch, and a long yawn.

She gave an infinitesimal smile to the creature before speaking to him in her own flowing native tongue, "I know, Wrex, I'm tired too. Just have to wait a little longer, than we can get some sleep. Promise," she spoke as if he understood the words and not the meaning. Though, at times sometimes she wondered if he did understand her words... just like she wondered if he had evolved beyond a non-sentient beast. Surely, he was at least something inbetween... at least after their bond was formed on Balosar.

Her midnight mane wagged at the shake of her head, now was not the time for meanings. Now was the time to discuss the next step with Vreem. Her belly expanded out ever so slightly, causing a rush of air and the particles carried on it into her flared nostrils. The fleeting odor of hundreds of Jedi floated into her nose, including the eleven high council members. The fear of a youngling as he walked into the turbolift with his soon-to-be master, the soft scent of a desert flower that was used in a Jedi's hair, the old persperation of a particularly tiring training routine... not a single whiff escaped her olfactory receptors. But she was looking for a certain one in particular... Vreem.

Through the temple she walked, following the lingering scent of Master Took as he walked about. The path took her to an all too familiar place, the room of a thousand fountains. Its confines was almost constantly used as a serene meditation room for the Jedi, one that was as close to nature as the heart of Coruscant could provide. The ghost of a smile etched its way across her face as she stepped into the room, her nose flooded with the almost euphoric scents and aromas of the myriads of flowers, trees, and other forms of flora that had been spread about the room.

If it were any other time she'd allow herself to be lost to the alure of the room, and simply wander around its winding paths with her eyes closed and nose open. But this was not the time for enjoying herslef... now was the time to find her fellow high council member within the gardens. She inhaled once more, filtering out all the uneeded scents (much to her chagrin), and picked up Master Took's trail once more.

Rhissai followed it along the winding stone path to a particularly secluded section of the room of a thousand fountains. Her steps grew quiet as she stepped off of the stone and onto the soft grass, then across from Vreem. Without a single word she sat down, her legs crossed, and allowed her eyes to slide closed. Wrex took up his position next to Rhissai, laying down like the great statue of the sphinx, simply gazing at the one that his companion sat across from. It took her tongue a few long moments to find the right words, "You are not alone in your decision to defy the council and aid the Republic. I... we... will do the right thing, even if the Council refuse to."

[Jenno]

After delivering his small speech to the Council and walking out of the session, Vreem had done a lot of walking and a lot of thinking. For a while now he had been gliding through the halls of the Temple on auto-pilot. All his attention had swarmed inwards and he was completely ignorant of the world around him. His words and gestures may have been grand but now he was presented with the struggle that was before him. He would have to contact the Republic, the Supreme Chancellor if at all possible, and then he would have to spread word throughout the Order. However, it was likely that murmurings of his intention to join the war effort would spread on its own. All that was needed would be time, something that seemed to be slipping away at a disheartening rate.

All his pacing and marching led him to the Room of a Thousand Fountains, when he caught the sight of the vibrant colours that ruptured from the blossoming flowers the Jedi Master snapped out of his trance for a moment, a little perplexed at how he’d managed to walk all the way to his preferred meditating area. Some times it was the Force that guided one’s movements and sometimes it was simply instinct, on this occasion Vreem would believe in the latter. He chocked through the humidity that had devoured him upon entering the grand chamber. Finally he found his resting place amongst the beautiful lavish plants and distant crying of the fountains.

Seclusion was a treasure Vreem would quite often search for in the Temple, and it was a hunt that, for the longest time, would reap no reward. It hadn’t been until he’d truly explored the Room of a Thousand Fountains that he was able to meditate upon things as he wanted. He could close his eyes and let his body be consumed by the peaceful, calming waves of the Force. It was a moment of pure ecstasy for him. Now he could plan ahead, think of what waited for him, there was so much to cover, and so little time.

His senses were in tune with the life around him, the lulling leaves of nearby flowers swayed to his very breath and the blood within him swam around like the waters of the fountains. He could feel their rhythm, the rhythm of life, the rhythm of the Force. The entire Temple was apart of his body, the council chamber his mind, the corridors his veins and the Jedi who streamed through them were the midi-chlorians that rested within his body. He could feel the Force burn within all of them, some of the younglings were little more than smothered embers waiting to burn through the expectations that haunted them. Within his mind there was a fire, the Masters who had remained within the council chambers truly had a reason to be considered the most powerfully members of the Order. They burned brighter than most of the others that walk about him.

But there was a flame within his veins that burned like those who still sat debating. It searing through the corridors with a blinding intensity, so discontent with the Masters of the Order that she had broken free of the shackles that bound her whispery rage. Now she sought him out, retracing his steps. He could feel the heat of her presence as she neared the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She burned so brightly that she threatened to set the entire chamber alight, the plants would wilt under her heat and the fountains would evaporate in a desperate attempt to flee the inferno of determination and focus that raged in her eyes.

As Rhissai’arckan looked upon Vreem he could feel reality suffocate his sense once more. She spoke of her own rejection to the Council’s decision. He was glad to know that he was not alone in his thoughts and that one of his peers was just as concerned for the people of the Republic as he. He might have brought up a smile if their choice were not one that led to war. Instead he bowed his head earnestly at her words and uttered a few of his own. “I am glad to have company in the tasks that await us. There are many things to consider, strategies and co-ordination, not to mention recruitment and informing the Supreme Chancellor of the events that transpired today.” He sighed and looked away from Rhissai’s gaze to a plant that sat off to his right that had kept its deep red petals aloft against the intense heat that spouted from their souls. “We might very well be expelled from the Order for our actions; the same might apply to any who follow us into this war. We must make sure they are warned of that, before the Council comes to make a decision on the matter.”

He eased himself to his feet and steadily walked over to the flower he had held his gaze moments earlier. He rested his hand above the plant and could feel the life that sprouted from it, defiant and resolute. “Master Arckan,” came his voice as he looked to her once more, “you seem to know much of war, more than I can admit to. What is it that drives you to step openly onto the battlefield again?” Vreem knew little of the woman before him other than what he had learned in the debates and discussions in the Council Chambers. He couldn’t grasp her personality or her reasoning, so he sought out the understanding he wanted.

[Dire Wolf]

Rhissai allowed a long exhale to push its way past her nose and out into the open air between the two masters. Her senses quickly expanded outwards, slithering through the flora and wading through the fountains like some kind of serpent. It took in every last morsel of sensory information that was to be had, be it the soft scent of the frail flower or the calming aura of a padawan and his master in deep meditation.

The troubled words that passed from Vreem's lips threw her out of this temporary moment of peace and serenity, however. She devoted much of her mental power to his rather simple question: why? Why had she chosen to return? Rhissai had made her choice regarding war three decades prior to that very moment, and that decision was to turn away from war. Her emerald gaze moved from Vreem to a master reading an archaic book, something the Jedi Master hadn't minded doing herself in a rare moment of leisure.

"What drives me," she returned the question, only it was directed towards herself, "protection. War is a terrible thing, Master Took. I've seen what it does to the innocent, and to the people that fight in it. Both first hand." Her commanding voice quivered at the last statement, "if my entering the war can spare one innocent life, one soldier, one family, at the cost of my good standing with the Order... than I will gladly make the trade." Rhissai allowed her eyes to flutter from the lone master sitting by the fountain to Vreem, she chose her next words almost as carefully as she chose her friends. "And, to be quite frank Master Took... Vreem... if the Order will not protect those innocents I want no part of it."

Rhissai had spent her life, or at least a majority of it, protecting innocents from the tyranny and oppression of the Dark Side. To have the vessel that she had devoted forty five years of her life refuse to do what it always had, protect the innocent, was simply staggering to the woman. "In fact, if they were to exile me, or anyone, for protecting the innocents in the outer rim... I would regret every single second of time that I would have wasted supporting them." A few hints of her Aphithiri heritige shined through in her rolling of the tongue, and the soft, angelic tone that added a cushion to her otherwise sharp words.

She took in another nasal inhale, the scent of every flower, tree, and being almost instantly met with her sense of smell. The pleasure of the act was more than enough to derail her train of thought and cause a light smile to spread her lips despite her earlier words. Bright green emeralds slid closed as she took in the wisps of scent once more, desperately trying to differentiate between each and every odor that permeated the room. It was an errant venture, of course, as not even her nose was sophisticated enough to separate each smell from the next.

It was a few moments before she caught ahold of herself, that almost girlish smile vanishing from her face the very instant that she realized what was at stake. Again. "Forgive me, I find it easy to lose myself in this place," she offered a sigh, "I will rally as many Jedi to our cause as I can. For the sake of the Jedi I doubt that we will be the only ones willing to stand up to the Sith Empire."

[Jenno]

As Vreem sat there and listened as his fellow Council Member revealed seductive hints about her past, the Jedi master came to realise just how little he knew not only about this woman, but all of those he sat with in the Council Chamber. The only two he possessed knowledge on were Master Beleren and Master Eris, the two members whom he considered friends. However, even his knowledge on their previous Grand Master was very little, she was quite the mystery, having been at such a young age to achieve the position she did, but he had never read her file. In fact, he had not read into any file of the High Council members, he thought it was rude and somewhat underhand. He would want someone to ask him about his past, allowing himself the opportunity to respectfully decline. There were some secrets that were best left buried.

Even Jace’s past details were unclear to him. They had first met years ago, assigned to the same mission. He had discovered his friend’s talents on that mission, his skill with the force and with a lightsaber, as well as the wisdom he was ready to dispense. But all he knew about the past of the Order’s icon was that he was once a Shadow. This was an area Vreem already had little experience in, he had delved into that side of things every now and again, but never had he lived the full life of a Shadow, he doubted the Order would have wanted him to. But that was still an area about his friend that Vreem had yet to truly discover and one day he hoped they might have the time to idly sit and talk of times gone past. These wishful thoughts fluttered by in a painful heartbeat as the darkness of reality descended once more upon his mind.

So Master Arckan had seen and experienced war, she did not step into this new battle without good reason, and he hoped those that followed them would be of a similar mind, not simply pulled along. It was rare for a Jedi of this era to have been so immersed with war, they were plagued with Dark Jedi, crime and pirates but dealing with these was nowhere near comparable to war. Perhaps Master Arckan would be a source he would heavily rely upon in the upcoming discussions that were bound to take place. Or perhaps she was too eager, though she said otherwise; it would be a reason for Vreem to also keep a close eye on her. He did not know her well enough at this juncture to make a true judgement of character.

One thing that hit the Jedi Master with quite a forceful punch was Rhissai’s comments about turning away from the Order. Practically all of their number had been institutionalised since the early years of their life, for those that remained in the light it was never an easy thing to talk about leaving the Jedi Order, for those who had fallen from the gracious light to the depths of darkness or even into the shroud of grey it was logical for them to leave the teachings of the Order behind them. But here was a woman, a Jedi High Council Member no less, who would easily be willing to turn her back on the Order, at least that was the impression he got from her words. To so quickly switch her thoughts and opinions to such a view was beyond Vreem’s understanding. He had held onto the teachings of the Order to pull him back to the light, it was due to the lessons instilled into him as a youngling and a padawan that had allowed him to steadily crawl out of the darkness. To turn away from it so easily, that was not something Vreem would be able to do, not whilst maintaining a strong connection to the Light side of the Force.

He smothered his feelings of shock and surprise, suppressing them until he was at peace once again. He nodded solemnly to his words, there was no joy to be had from them, and whilst it confirmed the solidarity of her beliefs it was not something to celebrate. But she stated her intention to recruit other Jedi to their cause and a number of faces flashed before his eyes, now he had some direction for the time being. He would see those close to him before he left to address the Supreme Chancellor. “Yes, there are a handful of people I would like to talk to, a few I would like to try and recruit personally. Once I have seen them, I believe that we should contact the Supreme Chancellor and set up a meeting. No doubt she will have received the Council’s rejection of her plea, but I do not believe she will have heard of our… differences of opinion. If you wish to dedicate your time to the recruitment of like-minded Jedi then I will focus my attention upon the political and logistical matters, to prevent us from being spread too thin.” Vreem paused and looked into the vibrant eyes of Master Arckan. “Time is of the essence, I will contact you once I have spoken to a number of Jedi. May the Force be with you Master Arckan.” With a courteous bow he moved through the fauna and out back into the cobbled corridors of Jedi Temple, his first target in mind.